Untitled
by AngelaRB
Summary: (Lost In Translation) Twelve years after Charlotte and Bob parted ways in Tokyo, they find each other again.


Disclaimer: All of these characters belong to the wonderful Sofia Coppola. Don't sue me. I'm just borrowing them for a little while.

Even though her heart was beating at around 100 miles per hour after experiencing the play she had just seen, and she wanted to see him so badly it hurt, Charlotte was tempted to fight her way out of this crowd and go home.

The play had been the Broadway premiere for the hot new playwright of the moment, and it was the theatrical premiere for one of those random teen heartthrobs that she had never really cared for. So of course, she was surrounded by what seemed like thousands of hysterical teenaged girls who all let out ear piercing screams every time the stage door opened. So far, the only people who had left the theatre were crew members and the mob was about to get out of control.

Not only did Charlotte feel incredibly old (she was beginning to feel that way anyway since she was only a few years away from being 40) and strangely nervous standing near all of these kids, she felt almost painfully excited because she was probably the only person there who was waiting to see the actor who had played Mr. Teen Heartthrob's father. 

She knew that she would never forget that day. Charlotte had been sitting at her desk in her office at the New York Times, and she looked up to see that the billboard that was directly across from her window was being changed. Thinking to herself that it was probably just another advertisement for another play that she wouldn't have time to see, she continued with her work without thinking much about what was going on outside. Some time later, something told her to look out the window.

Charlotte still wasn't quite sure how long she was staring at that billboard in a state of absolute shock. Beside the enormous photo of the star were a few smaller likenesses of the supporting cast. Among them was the face of a man she hadn't seen in nearly twelve years, but she had thought of every day since that magnificent week in Tokyo. 

It was Bob. As soon as she saw him on that billboard her palms became damp, her mouth dry, her body numb and her lips quivering. Oh sure, he had done a few movies over the years and had appeared in a couple of failed TV shows…but she hadn't watched them. She knew that seeing him would just…hurt. Thinking back she knew that sounded petty and awful, but the thought of seeing Bob made her feel like the scared _kid _she had been all of those years ago when she thought she knew everything. 

But here he was. Not surprisingly, he still looked good. Oh, Bob had never been what you'd call handsome, but that sparkle in his eyes and that sweet smile was still there. He'd be around sixty now, and other than quite a few more gray hairs on his head he looked pretty much the same. There were no other words to describe him than absolutely beautiful.

Though it took a level of bravery that Charlotte had no idea she still possessed, she bought a ticket to the opening night of the play the day they went on sale.

Before she knew it, the night had finally come and she was sitting in the theatre anxiously waiting for the lights to dim and the curtain to rise. When that time finally came and Bob made his entrance, Charlotte's eyes immediately welled up with tears. He was playing a loving father who was concerned with his son who had just flunked out of college during his final semester and was struggling with drug abuse. The play was mediocre at best, but seeing Bob up there on stage nearly ripped her heart of out of her chest. 

The curtain call was nearly as painful as that day in Tokyo when they parted ways on the street, and he had held her so close and kissed her so sweetly. He made her finally believe that real love that transcended all boundaries, and went far beyond the love between most men and women truly existed. While she had been attracted to him it wasn't entirely sexual, and while he had the potential to be a lifelong best friend it wasn't entirely about friendship. It just…_was. _And though it had been over a decade since she had seen him, it _still _was.

Charlotte didn't want the falling of the curtain to be the last time she ever saw him, so she quickly raced to the stage door outside and waited with the throng of teenaged girls who were about to really get on her nerves.

Once again the stage door opened and the crowd let out a simultaneous hysterical scream, but it stopped immediately when they saw that it was just the "old guy who played his dad" (as a young girl behind Charlotte said). Charlotte grinned when he playfully got a disappointed look on his face, pretending that he thought all of those girls were out there to see him. He even called out, "He'll be out in a few minutes" as he signed a few autographs and slowly made his way to the part of the crowd where she stood. When he finally got near her, Charlotte nearly panicked when Bob seemed to think that nobody else was there who wanted his autograph and he made his way toward the car that was waiting for him. _No, that couldn't happen._

Hoping that he'd hear her in the crowd, Charlotte called his name. His back was to her, but he seemed to suddenly be frozen solid. She finally made her way to the front of the mob, and called his name again.

He turned toward her voice, and as soon as their eyes locked it was as if they had just left each other in Tokyo moments earlier. Both of their eyes held the same misty sadness, both of their bottom lips were trembling, but instead of walking away from her Bob slowly walked toward her with his hands clenched in tight fists. Charlotte never imagined him as being someone who would ever be at loss for words, but Bob opened his mouth as if to say something, closed it again, opened it again, then just gave up and wiped his misty eyes with the sleeve of his coat. 

Charlotte imagined that she'd probably do about the same if she tried to speak too. 

Finally, Bob put one of his hands on her cheek and managed to softly speak one word. "Charlotte?"

What Charlotte managed to croak out was even more whispered than Bob's voice had been. "Hi Bob." 

"What…how? I mean, what are you doing here?" Bob looked like he had just seen a ghost, and Charlotte imagined that's what she was to him after their week in Tokyo. She imagined that she would never see him again after they parted, so she assumed he had thought the same. 

"I live here." Charlotte closed her eyes when Bob took his hand from her cheek and gently stroked her hair as his hand fell back next to him. 

"But…what about…What's his name? Didn't you live in LA?"

"It's a long story."

"Oh…" Still with that look of absolute shock on his face, Bob ducked under the barricade that was holding the crowd back and stood next to her. Charlotte had forgotten how tall he was. "You wanna get out of here?"

"Uh huh."

Without anymore words spoken between them, Charlotte and Bob made their way out the crowd. As soon as they were free of the massive pack of girls, screams that were louder than all of the ones she had heard earlier told Charlotte that the handsome young actor had finally made his way outside the stage door. _You don't know what you're missing right here, girls._

They just kept walking down 47th street with an occasional glance and a smile at each other. Had it really been twelve years since their week together in Tokyo? Charlotte could have sworn that week had never ended and they had never parted ways in the first place. 

She had no clue where they would end up or what would happen, but all Charlotte knew was that she felt at peace for the first time in a ridiculously long time. And suddenly, without her even knowing it had happened, they were holding hands. 


End file.
